Redmond Mayor Ed Fitch speaks during a meeting of regional leaders at Redmond City Hall on Thursday to discuss the challenges they face in dealing with water and drought in Central Oregon. 

We spent a lot of time working on a story about BrightSide Animal Center, which appeared in last week’s paper. The article detailed a difficult stretch for the nonprofit, as it cycled through changes in executive staff, board members and volunteers.

A real breaking point for many was a Bend trainer who specialized in working with aggressive dogs. The trainer said he works to understand poor behavior from the dog’s point of view, while volunteers felt like the discipline, stringent rules and the throwing of objects at dogs was more than they could take. Many resigned. Read the story and let us know what you think.

Reporter Michael Kohn sat in on a day of meetings at Redmond City Hall on Thursday, all bubbling around water issues in Central Oregon. Michael wrote about the day here. It was good to see state, county and city officials all in the room talking about a crucial issue for the region going forward.

Need something to do this weekend?

Bring the kids to the fish fair on Saturday at Fireman’s Pond and hook into some freshly-stocked rainbows. They’ve been biting since sun-up! If the real thing is more you style, head to the river for the famed Deschutes salmonfly hatch. It only comes once a year.

And definitely check out the Redmond Community Choir’s performance on Sunday at Redmond High. They’ll be singing some of your favorite tunes from the ’60s and ’70s. 

Many Central Oregon folks are mourning the loss of Susie Penhollow. Folks from our neck of the woods will know her from many things, but perhaps especially the 77-year tradition of Lord’s Acre Day. Did you know that John F. Kennedy was a guest at the Powell Butte picnic in 1959?

Quote of the Week

“It is a very emotional situation, because all the volunteers are there for one reason — because they love it. I had to quit. Because if I stayed on, then I was condoning the activities that were going on. I had to quit. Which really tore me up because of the poor dogs, through no fault of their own, were there. And now I can’t even go and help them.”

— Former BrightSide volunteer Jerry Boysen

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— Tim Trainor is editor of the Redmond Spokesman.